Trancer hunter Jack Deth travels through time and awakens in the body of his daughter. And now he must save himself (her body) and the world from a new a deadly breed of Trancers.Trancer hunter Jack Deth travels through time and awakens in the body of his daughter. And now he must save himself (her body) and the world from a new a deadly breed of Trancers.Trancer hunter Jack Deth travels through time and awakens in the body of his daughter. And now he must save himself (her body) and the world from a new a deadly breed of Trancers.
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- (as Kyle O. Ingleman)
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaTim Thomerson visited the set occasionally to consult actress Zette Sullivan on playing Jack/Jo before shooting. His advice was to watch movies with Steve McQueen and act like him, only "more pissed off."
- GoofsWhen Jack arrives in his daughter's body, s/he searches her apartment for something to drink to clear his head. He looks in the fridge and laments that there is nothing but carrot juice - but visible in the upper left-hand corner of the fridge is a box of red wine.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Josephine Forrest: I've always figured the only jobs worth doing were the jobs worth dying for. That's not for everybody, especially not my kid. Scumbags are looking for her now, so I've got to stay right here to strike at them first. My name's Jack - Jo Deth, and I'm a trancer hunter. As I look out on the sea of faces around me, I wonder how many of them are regular folks, and how many of them are ready to trance out. My job is to find out. Trancers: not really alive, not dead enough, until I'm through with them.
- ConnectionsFollows The Dungeonmaster (1984)
This last entry in the 'Trancers' franchise feels like a mash-up of the sci-fi flick the first three films represented, a self-parody, a teen comedy - and a fan film. These flavorings are accentuated by the supporting cast that includes no small number of extraordinarily young and fresh-faced nobodies, and the fact that aside from one-liners, most of the comedy relies on the simple incongruity of seeing the tough-talking attitude of trancer hunter Jack Deth coming from a pretty, idealistic young woman. The dialogue is only slightly less blunt than the original music of Jon Greathouse, and the camerawork, acting, and overall narrative writing all but totally lack any subtlety or dexterity.
Makeup, effects, and even sound are somewhat dubious; rarely has gunfire looked or sounded less convincing. I can only imagine that the budget for 'Trancers 6' was at rock bottom. Scenes are orchestrated with such a straightforward and direct heavy hand that filmmaker Jay Woelfel seems to be operating on a level of B-movie only marginally more sophisticated than "first student film." Most of the cast gives off an air of similar inexperience, as though the casting director mostly just pulled people off the streets. Only Robert Donavan, as prominent supporting character Dr. Malvern, and - surprisingly - star Zette Sullivan, as protagonist Jo, demonstrate any small measure of nuance in their performances. Though to be fair, that's not necessarily saying much; who wouldn't be a shining beacon when compared against the astoundingly ham-handed acting of Jennifer Capo, or the wholly flat portrayals of unnamed characters?
Despite all these notable flaws, faults, and imperfections - against all odds, 'Trancers 6' is kind of fun. At no point is it outright funny, nor thrilling, but it carries a very basic sort of entertainment factor. It's the kind of movie you can watch without being actively engaged, and walk away saying "That was pretty okay." That may not be much, but it's safe to say there are a lot worse ways one could spend their time (including this feature's two immediate antecedents). Granted, this assumes one takes the premise at face value. Don't try for one moment to think about the intricacies of the concept, the plot, or how this film could tie into the "timeline" established by its predecessors, because doing so will result in a big headache and no clarity.
Tim Thomerson didn't contribute much to the series past the second film, so I can't rightly say he's missed here. The return to the core notion of the franchise is welcome, and it's somewhat refreshing to see a wholly new cast in a saga that was growing stale, even if the execution leaves a bit to be desired. It's also gratifying that beyond the very beginning, this feature refrained from the lazy, cheap jokes that have historically followed when a movie has explored gender-bending as a root idea.
This is definitely a very mixed bag. Whatever one's broad outlook where cinema is concerned, or experience with this series, I begrudge no one their opinion on the final outcome. Yet regardless of its deficiencies, without any glaring blemish to hold it back, to me it seems to get along just fine. In a checkered franchise that only ever aimed for fun, 'Trancers 6' manages to regain that focus, however modestly, and that perhaps sums up the film best of all.
- I_Ailurophile
- Aug 24, 2021